amaotonovel Chapter 1029 Li Shanchang, you're using me as a pawn!?
Chapter 1029 Li Shanchang, you're using me as a pawn!?
Emperor Zhu did not give a direct answer to Xu Da's question. Instead, he looked at Li Shanchang with a puzzled expression and asked, "Brother Shanchang, have you really thought this through?"
Li Shanchang also did not answer Emperor Zhu's question. Instead, he stroked his beard with a smile and said, "Your Majesty, I was formerly the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, and now I am the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty."
Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were somewhat bewildered.
We're not talking about military reform right now.
What kind of charade are Shangwei and Li Xiang putting on, anyway?
Just as Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were wondering about this, Li Shanchang smiled and said, "Since I have made my decision, I will not regret it."
After a slight pause, Li Shanchang solemnly said, "I am over sixty years old and have thoroughly seen through the illusions of fame over the years."
"And those who rise to power have to pay a far greater price than their subjects."
"What is there for me to have thought about, whether I have it or not?"
Emperor Zhu hummed in agreement, remained silent for a while before letting out a long sigh and saying, "Then let's do as Elder Brother Shan says."
Seeing that Emperor Zhu and Li Shanchang were still speaking in riddles, Chang Yuchun finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Your Majesty, Mr. Shanchang, what is this?"
Emperor Zhu did not respond, but Li Shanchang chuckled and said, "Bo Ren, do you know that I am already over sixty years old?"
Chang Yuchun nodded, and Li Shanchang continued, "Then let me ask you, have you ever heard of the poem, 'An eighteen-year-old bride and an eighty-year-old groom, white hair against red makeup'?"
As Li Shanchang finished speaking, Liu Bowen almost cursed out loud.
You damn Li Shanchang, your face isn't just covered in pockmarks, it's full of craters!
I'm telling you, you old fool, you're over sixty and you're still thinking about taking a concubine!
So it turns out you were planning to cooperate with the higher-ups, using the entire court as pawns in a grand scheme. Even I, Xu Da, and Chang Heizi were just pawns in your game with the higher-ups.
The key question is, could you at least give me a heads-up?
Do you think I covet this title of Marquis of Sincerity?
Xu Da also frowned slightly.
Only Chang Yuchun stared blankly at Li Shanchang and asked, "Why did you suddenly bring up poetry, Mr. Shanchang?"
Emperor Zhu was almost made to laugh by Chang Yuchun's words.
That's the infamous Chang Shiwan!
How blind were we to have let him serve as Pingzhang Zhengshi?
The key question is, with his brain, how did he even manage to pick up that bastard in the first place?
Was it really just a case of blind cat catching a dead mouse?
Thinking of this, Emperor Zhu shook his head helplessly again.
Forget it.
They are, after all, our in-laws.
The use of metaphors in poetry is indeed beyond Chang Heizi's knowledge.
From now on, let him just obediently lead troops into battle.
Emperor Zhu was internally ranting, but Li Shanchang, with a dark and sour face, said, "What I mean is that I am already over sixty years old, yet I have taken a concubine among the common people. This is against etiquette and violates the laws of our Great Ming Dynasty."
“Since they have violated etiquette and law, they should be punished.”
"Demotion and salary reduction are both appropriate measures."
"Even if it's a demotion in rank when inheriting the title, it's still what I deserve."
Li Shanchang glanced at Chang Yuchun and snorted coldly, "Do you understand what I'm saying, Chang Heizi?"
Chang Yuchun instinctively wanted to shake his head.
Taking a concubine is a damn big deal?
Besides, didn't you, Li Shanchang, already openly bring your concubine home?
Besides, you didn't just take a concubine recently.
So much time has passed, why are we suddenly bringing up old grievances, and even involving such severe punishments as demotion, salary reduction, and even downgrading of hereditary titles?
Chang Yuchun became more and more confused. Just as he was about to ask a few more questions, he saw Li Shanchang staring at him with an unfriendly expression.
So Chang Yuchun nodded in agreement.
Li Shanchang finally laughed out of anger at Chang Yuchun.
That brute is always afraid of his wife!
Li Shanchang snorted coldly with a dark face and said, "My title is Duke, which is hereditary and can be passed down without change. Moreover, I was the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty before, and I am the current Grand Secretary."
"If a Duke can voluntarily request a lower rank in inheriting his title, why can't they?"
"Even if they are unwilling to petition for a reduction in the rank of hereditary title, even I am punished for making a mistake. What can they say when they are punished for their mistakes?"
Chang Yuchun looked at Emperor Zhu with a bewildered expression.
In order to resolve the issue of hereditary succession, even the cunning Li Shanchang was willing to request to inherit the title at a lower rank.
Should I, Chang, also take a concubine and then request to be demoted and inherit the title?
Just as Chang Yuchun was weighing the pros and cons between taking a concubine and getting beaten up, Liu Bowen bowed to Emperor Zhu and said, "Your Majesty, I also request to be demoted and inherit the title."
Xu Da bowed to Emperor Zhu and said, "Your Majesty, I also request to be demoted and inherit the title."
Chang Yuchun snorted coldly and said, "Then I'll be the same!"
Emperor Zhu did not speak, but instead picked up a small clod of earth again and crushed it.
After a long while, Emperor Zhu sighed and said, "Then we'll have to trouble Mr. Shanchang for now."
After a slight pause, Emperor Zhu picked up a small clod of earth, gently rubbing it between his fingers, and said, "I have a few ideas, please give them your consideration."
"First, we should give them titles of nobility during the Northern Expedition against the Yuan Dynasty, the Western Expedition against Tibet, and the Southern Expedition against Dali."
"Those who are qualified to be barons will be made barons, and those who are qualified to be viscounts will be made viscounts."
"The title is best held in the highest rank, not the lowest. The title is inherited in a lower rank if the next generation is skipped, and the descendants of a hundred households are commoners."
"Secondly, let's find a business that can make a lot of money, and everyone with a title can get a share."
"These shares are neither allowed to be bought nor sold."
"In the unfortunate event of no heir, it is permissible to adopt a collateral branch to inherit the family line."
"As for how much money we can make..."
Emperor Zhu turned his gaze to Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen and said, "Mr. Shanchang and Mr. Qingtian should both know how good that scoundrel is at making money."
"We plan to hand over this profitable business to him."
"As long as the Ming Dynasty exists, this share of the profits will remain."
"..."
After a long silence, Emperor Zhu finally spoke with a bitter expression: "Third, members of the imperial clan, including princes, will have their titles reduced in rank after three generations, and those who are later appointed as Fengguo Zhongwei will be reduced to commoners."
As Emperor Zhu finished speaking, Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, Xu Da, and Chang Yuchun were completely dumbfounded.
Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen even secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It would be best if the hereditary title were gone.
To put it even more bluntly: a hereditary title can, to some extent, be equated with a death warrant, a banner for the extermination of a family, or a list of nine generations of relatives.
Neither Li Shanchang nor Liu Bowen expected that Emperor Zhu would actually re-establish the rules for the inheritance of titles among the imperial clan, even completely changing the regulations that princes' titles were hereditary and that the rank of Fengguo Zhongwei would no longer be demoted.
Pay attention!
In the Ming Dynasty, apart from members of the imperial family, noble titles were divided into hereditary and non-hereditary, and hereditary titles were further divided into two types: hereditary and hereditary without replacement.
Non-hereditary titles are easy to understand; only the person who receives the title holds it, and it is not passed down to others.
Hereditary succession generally refers to the succession of a title in a lower rank. That is, when someone obtains the title of Duke, his son will become a Marquis when he inherits the title, and then a Earl.
Hereditary succession means that a title can be passed down indefinitely without any issue of the title being downgraded.
The concept of hereditary succession appeared in the Song Dynasty and was continued in the Ming Dynasty. Later, the Ma family formally clarified the concept of hereditary succession and carried it forward, creating the so-called "Iron-Cap Prince".
Li Shanchang finally couldn't hold back any longer and advised, "Shouldn't you reconsider before taking the position?"